An Australian mother has called for a nationwide shift away from traditional banks, following an incident involving her friend and the Commonwealth Bank. The friend, according to Bobbie Heinemann from Warwick, Queensland, faced obstacles when attempting to withdraw approximately $20,000 for her children.
Heinemann recounted how her friend met resistance after requesting her funds, with the bank probing into her intentions for the withdrawal. “They questioned her motives, asking, ‘Why do you need this money?'” Heinemann explained.
The situation escalated as the bank redirected her to their fraud and scam departments, subjecting her to a barrage of inquiries.
Moreover, the bank required her children to verify their identities, despite being spread across New South Wales, northern Queensland, and Brisbane.
After complying with the bank’s demands, the friend and her children were ultimately denied access to the funds, leaving them frustrated and without resolution. “Even after all the identity checks, they were told, ‘No, you can’t withdraw your money,'” Heinemann shared.
‘She’s got adult children in NSW, northern Queensland and in [Brisbane]. They go in and verify their identity, just to be told, “No, you can’t take your money out.”‘
Ms Heinemann blasted the bank’s decision as ‘disgusting’ and urged Aussies to ‘ditch the banks’ if they want any semblance of financial freedom.
‘This is so un-Australian. To me it’s like communism,’ she said.
Bobbie Heinemann claims her friend’s withdrawal request was denied by her bank
‘So, for all of you that are banking, or have decent term deposits, or have fair a bit of money stashed in the banks, go and get it out.
‘Don’t go into the bank and apply for it. Siphon the f***ing s*** out every day from the ATM.’
Her TikTok garnered hundreds of comments, with many followers sharing their own experiences facing difficulties when trying to withdraw cash.
‘Did a very big withdrawal from Comm Bank. When they asked me why, I told them it was none of their business. Money moved to another bank,’ one said.
Another commented: ‘I had a similar issue with another big bank, they asked certain questions and I just said for personal reasons, I got the amount I asked for but I needed to produce my drivers licence.’
‘I don’t leave more than $500 in my bank anymore,’ a third replied.
Others questioned Ms Heinemann’s story and said her friend could have just chosen to do a bank transfer instead.
‘I don’t think they question you if you direct transfer,’ one person said.
The woman was hoping to withdraw $20,000 from her account to give to her children
‘That’s a normal protocol for some banks here in Australia,’ a second commented.
‘If you need to withdraw over $5,000 you have to order the amount days before you can withdraw it. What’s the big fuss about it?’
Another person said: ‘It’s scam protection. Do you know how much money the banks have stopped from going to scammers! You have no idea. It’s crazy,’ to which Ms Heinemann replied,’ Oh I have an idea but you are only thinking surface level.’
According to the Commonwealth Bank website, the daily cash withdrawal limits via a Debit Mastercard is $1,000 if the card was issued before February 9, 2015, or $2,000 if issued on or after that date.
For keycard holders, the daily cash withdrawal limit is $800 if the card was issued before July 28, 2008, or $1,000 if issued after that date.
Account holders can change their daily withdrawal limit up to $2,000 via Netbank.
Daily Mail has contacted Commonwealth Bank for comment.
